Manchester City’s Portuguese midfielder
Bernardo Silva/ AFP
Bernardo Silva says Manchester City’s squad
is approaching full strength at the right time
as they mount a four-pronged trophy assault
Kevin De Bruyne and Benjamin Mendy have
missed large chunks of the campaign
through injury, while David Silva,
Fernandinho, Sergio Aguero and Ilkay
Gundogan have had spells out recently.
But the Premier League champions are
now getting close to full strength, with
Mendy the only key player sidelined with a
serious injury, and there are hopes he could
be back in action before the end of the
month.
City illustrated the depth of their squad as
they named De Bruyne, Aguero and Riyad
Mahrez on the bench for Monday’s clash
with Wolves and still eased to a 3-0 win.
“It feels like we have all the squad, which
is important because we need all of them,â€
said playmaker Silva. “It is good finally to
be back together.
“Of course until this moment of the season
we have had so many injured players, we
never played with the whole squad. To
have almost the whole squad available is
fantastic for us and it is very good to try
and go for all the competitions.â€
Silva, 24, has no issue with the fact that
means increased competition for his own
place.
“That is what happens when you play in
one of the best teams in the world,†he
said. “You have fantastic players in your
position, you have to work hard to try and
play as many minutes as you can.
“That is a good thing. It means you have a
good squad. Everyone pushes the other
teammates so you have to work harder to
get in the team.â€
City remain firmly in the title race after
Monday’s victory cut Liverpool’s lead at
the top of the Premier League back to four
points. They are also still competing in
both domestic cups and the Champions
League.
Their involvement in all those competitions
could ultimately amount to playing a
considerable number of games more than
Liverpool but Silva is confident that would
not hamper their title defence.
He said: “Honestly, I don’t think so. I think
it is a good sign for us that we are still in
all the competitions, that is what we try to
do and big teams try to do.
“We will keep going that way, we have a
good squad. We will try to make things
work, knowing that it is not easy but when
you play in a club like Man City, season
after season, you get used to playing lots
of games at a high level.â€
